Run independently scheduled auction listings on your own website with PHP Pro Bid. Set each item’s start time, duration or closing time, reserve price, and bidding rules. Proxy bidding, anti-sniping, outbid notifications, and invoicing support the sale, while you keep adding new listings as inventory arrives.
An online timed auction accepts bids until a scheduled closing time, which can be extended by anti-sniping settings. In PHP Pro Bid’s standard auction format, each listing has its own starting bid and schedule. Listings can open and close independently, so your website can keep accepting new items without organizing them into a named event.
Buyers register, browse available listings, and bid while each auction is open. Proxy bidding places bids on their behalf up to their maximum, while outbid notifications help them follow the auction. An item sells to the highest bidder when bidding closes, provided any reserve price has been met.
Auction Events also use timed bidding. The difference is how the sale is organized: an event groups lots into a named catalog with an event schedule and staggered closing intervals. For that format, see Auction Events.
This format is used for everything from antiques and collectibles to industrial equipment, luxury goods, property, and surplus stock. If you have items with buyers, a timed auction is the most efficient and scalable way to sell them online under your own brand — not through a marketplace that takes a cut and owns your buyer relationships.
PHP Pro Bid runs your auction website on your own domain. Cloud and Managed VPS handle hosting for you; the self-hosted License runs on a compatible server you manage. You control the site’s content and bidder records. Source-code access is included with License and Managed VPS.
No surprises. This is the honest checklist — every item you need before your first auction can go live.
Anything with a market — antiques, industrial equipment, surplus stock, collectibles, property, vehicles. The software handles any category. You supply the inventory.
Your auction site lives at your own URL — yourauctions.com, yourbrand.co.uk, whatever fits your business. From £8/year with any registrar.
Cloud includes managed hosting. Managed VPS gives you a private server maintained by our team. For the self-hosted License, check the server requirements before choosing hosting; capacity should match your catalog and bidder traffic.
PHP Pro Bid integrates with Stripe, PayPal, and others out of the box. Buyers pay through your gateway — money goes directly to your account. We never touch your revenue.
Your first bidders come through marketing — social media, email, SEO, word of mouth, or existing customer lists. PHP Pro Bid gives you buyer registration, verification, and a built-in messaging system to engage them.
Our managed plan needs zero technical skill. For the self-hosted license, basic FTP and cPanel access is enough. One-click install handles the rest. Full documentation included.
From a blank slate to active bids. Each step links to the relevant documentation so you can go as deep as you need.
After ordering, install PHP Pro Bid on your hosting account using the one-click installer. Set your site name, timezone, currency, and language. This takes under 30 minutes. Choose the Managed plan and we handle this for you — your platform arrives pre-configured and ready to customize.
View installation docs →Set your bid increment rules — flat amounts or an increments table that scales with the lot price. Configure proxy bidding so the software automatically bids on a buyer's behalf up to their maximum. Enable bid sniping protection: any bid placed in the final moments automatically extends the auction by a time period you define, ensuring a fair close.
Bid increments & bidding docs →Choose your registration flow: open registration, email activation, or admin approval. Enable buyer verification — an identity confirmation step that builds trust between you and your bidders. All registration data is stored on your server. Configure the password rules, welcome emails, and KYC requirements that fit your market.
User registration & verification docs →Create each auction listing with a title, description, images, opening bid, and reserve price. Set a custom start and end time for each lot, or use a fixed duration. Upload up to multiple images per lot. Save drafts and publish when ready. For large sales, use bulk listing upload to create dozens or hundreds of lots from a spreadsheet in minutes rather than hours.
Listings documentation →Charge listing fees, sale transaction fees, or both — paid by sellers, buyers, or split. Fees can be percentage-based, flat, or tiered by price range. Use the built-in fees calculator so buyers can see the total cost before they bid. Every fee is set by you and goes directly to you.
Fees configuration docs →PHP Pro Bid integrates with Stripe and PayPal out of the box. Connect your gateway from the admin panel — no code required. When a buyer wins and pays, funds land in your account. The Stripe add-on supports Payment Intents API with automatic card charging, so buyers check out in one step.
Payment gateway docs →Publish your lots and open registration. Buyers start bidding. Your dashboard shows every active lot, bid count, current price, and time remaining in real time. Outbid notifications go out automatically to losing bidders — bringing them back to rebid without any manual effort. When the timer reaches zero, winners are determined and invoices generated automatically.
Bidding documentation →When bidding closes, the platform auto-generates invoices for every winning bidder. Buyers receive an email with a link to pay and arrange shipping. Combine multiple lots into one invoice for buyers who won more than one item — a feature that reduces friction and increases collection rates. Unsold lots can be relisted with one click.
Accounting & invoicing docs →PHP Pro Bid ships with every tool covered below. No extra modules required to run timed auctions.
Any bid placed in the final minutes automatically extends the auction by your defined period. Fair close every time — and more bids in the last stretch.
Soft-close settings →Buyers set a maximum bid and the platform places incremental bids on their behalf — automatically, up to their limit. More bids, less buyer effort.
Proxy bidding guide →Set flat increments or use an increments table that scales with the current bid price. Full control over how competitively your lots close.
Bid increment setup →Start each listing immediately or schedule it for later. Choose a listing duration or a custom closing time for each item, so new auctions can begin while other listings are still accepting bids.
Auction scheduling guide →Outbid emails let buyers know when another bid takes the lead, so they can review the auction and decide whether to bid again.
Outbid notification setup →When bidding closes, winner invoices generate automatically. Buyers pay online. Combine multiple won lots into a single invoice with one click — fewer abandoned payments.
Invoice combination guide →Set a hidden reserve that must be met before the lot sells. Enable Buy Out for bidders who want to skip the auction and buy immediately at your set price.
Buy-out configuration →Built-in messaging between buyers and sellers. Bid updates, sale confirmations, and Q&A for lots — all on-platform. No external email management needed.
Buyer messaging guide →Buyers bid from their phone with the same speed and reliability as desktop. No separate app required. Your platform works on every modern browser and device.
Features →Require buyers to verify their account before bidding. A built-in reputation and feedback system lets your community self-police — reducing no-shows and non-payment.
User verification setup →Run your timed auction platform in any language. PHP Pro Bid ships with a full translation system — expand to international buyers without rebuilding anything.
Multilanguage setup →Allow third-party sellers to list on your platform and charge them listing or transaction fees. Run as the sole seller or build a full marketplace — your choice, switchable any time.
Features →Everything first-time platform owners ask before going live. More in the full documentation.
Ask a question →Everything connects. Follow the links that match where you are in your journey.
The full picture: every auction format, every pricing option, and every reason to own your platform rather than rent it.
£399 one-time license or from £63/month Cloud. See exactly what each includes before you decide.
Every module across auctions, shopping cart, fees, payments, shipping, and users — documented in detail.
Selling an estate? Explore catalog presentation, bulk listing, and buyer invoicing, then choose independent auction listings or a scheduled Auction Event to organize the sale.
Need a named sale with a grouped catalog? Auction Events organize lots under an event schedule with configurable staggered closing intervals.
Model flat platform costs against percentage fees across one, three, and five years.
Need something the standard platform doesn't have? We build custom features, integrations, and designs to specification.
Stripe integration, Canary and Vintage themes, Facebook login, eBay importer, product discounts, and more.
Full technical docs for creating auctions, configuring bidding, managing bid retractions, buy-out, make offer, and more.
You now know every step. The only thing left is choosing your plan, installing the platform, and listing your first lot. Most users are live within a week.